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The Prisons Commissioner calls for the death penalty to curb the drug crisis

2025-10-24

In a controversial statement, Sri Lankas Prisons Commissioner Jageth Weerasinghe has urged the government to reinstate executions for largescale drug traffickers, claiming such action is necessary to protect future generations. Addressing students at a drug awareness event, Weerasinghe said the countrys 36 prisonsbuilt for 10,500 inmatesare now overcrowded with over 36,000 detainees, 65 of whom are imprisoned for drugrelated offences. He described synthetic drugs like ice as highly toxic and fatal within two years of use. He called on political leaders to pressure President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to resume capital punishment for major drug offenders, framing it as a national emergency.

However, human rights advocates say the call for executions contradicts international standards. According to the 2025 FIDHREDRESS report on torture and the death penalty in Asia, such punitive measures have no proven deterrent effect and often lead to miscarriages of justice in systems already plagued by abuse and corruption. The report urges governmentsincluding Sri Lankanot to revert to repressive measures and instead focus on evidencebased, rightsrespecting drug policies and prison reform.